Ripe for renovation

[biglouis]

This is a house front in the Spitalfields area of East London which I often pass going to and from the area. 'Ripe for renovation' is a bit misleading because the house is far from derelict. I actually think the owners have left it in this state because it radiates a feeling of age and history (or perhaps they are into what my wife calls 'shabby chic').

39L1010180 01.jpg

[andybarton]

That house will be a lot older than it looks.

Can you show us any more - above first floor level?

Thanks.

[biglouis]

Originally Posted by andybarton

Can you show us any more - above first floor level?

Andy

I actually did not shoot any pictures of the whole house but below is a picture which puts it in context.

This is an example of a Hugenot Silk Weavers house built at the turn of the 18th century.

Looking very carefully at the house and the one next to it, I wonder if the stucco decoration was a later edition. This area of Spitalfields was quite affluent until the 1820s when it fell into decline and became the cheap area associated with waves of immigration starting with the Irish and currently with the Bangladeshi community. Mind you, the house you are looking at is probably worth in the area of £750K to £1m even in its current condition so affluence, it would seem , has returned to the area once again!

I'm planning to do a photographic essay on the area as I work nearby and I often go through it. When it is complete I will add it as a separate section of my website.

L1010185-Edit-3.jpg

[andybarton]

Excellent. Thanks.

On my mother's side, I come from a Huguenot family who settled in this part of London on the 1700s. we were silversmiths, not silk weavers though

One of these days, I intend to take a trip round here and see where they lived - we have all their addresses.

[biglouis]

Originally Posted by andybarton

One of these days, I intend to take a trip round here and see where they lived - we have all their addresses.

Fascinating. An ideal photographic destination, there is just so much worth shooting. If you do come down and you want a guide, get in touch.

LouisB

[jmr]

Louis,

lovely composition and colour in the first shot.

[stuny]

Big -

I especially like the limitation of colors to basically two families -- pink and gray -- the same colors I painted a model motor boat when I was a child.